playable on PC and standard DVD players with TV, NTSC and PAL compatible

Is it legal to shrink and backup a DVD that i own?

We don't give our opinion, let's just hear what people say.

No need to worry about it

I backup my DVDs. I used my hard-earned money to purchase it, so I see no reason why I shouldn't be allowed to make a backup copy of it.

By the spirit of the law (IMO) you can strip off the copy protection and make a "not unreasonable" number of copies for personal use. That means (for example) you could copy a DVD to play in your car's DVD player so the kids don't scratch up the original, and copy it to your iPod so you can watch it on the train, but you can't give, sell, or otherwise distribute the copies to anyone.

Technically speaking, it is illegal to rip DVDs (even if you own them). In order to rip a commercial DVD, you must circumvent any copy protection that is set in place. This is the illegal part of the ripping process. I wouldn't worry though as it is a dumb law and the FBI, MPAA, or anyone else isn't going to knock down your door for DVD ripping.

I'd say you are safe to back them up, so long as you do not try to share or distribute them in any manner. No judge in their right mind would charge you with copyright infringement if you owned the originals and were only using the backups for personal use.

More Opinions from Yahoo! Answers

Legally you can. It is called the "Fair Use Policy" but the recording and movie companies do not want to abide by it, so they tell people that it is illegal. It is not illegal to circumvent copy protection if you only use the media for your own use! The Music and Movie companies want people to think that it is illegal but the courts have sided with the consumer every time on fair use including ripping copyrighted media.

Fair use practice allows the owner of the DVD to use the content in any manner that does not violate copyrights. So you should feel free to rip it into any format. It is legal to rip movies that you own, but it is illegal to rip movies that you have rented or are borrowing from someone and do not try to share or distribute them in any manner.

Debate

One of the biggest debates between the public and the recorded music industry is whether or not creating backup copies of personal CDs and DVDs is legal. Manufacturers state that making copies for any purpose is illegal because to do so is a copyright infringement, but the public is in favor of the Fair Use Act and the Audio Home Recording Act of 1992. These are open to interpretation, but in a nutshell – you may legally make a copy of your CD for personal backup if you were the one who bought (and still own) the original.

Legality Difference Around the World

Legality depends on the country you live in, the laws will be different for every country. I know that in Canada and France you are safe, USA and UK you are not. The Canadian courts have ruled that backup copies for personal use are legal, but you are only allowed to use one copy of the item at a time. of course, if you use more than one simultaneously, it's no longer a backup.

In United States, it is legal for an individual in the United States to make a copy of media he/she owns for his/her own personal use. Fair Use grants you the right to make a backup copy of your media for your own personal use. But the Digital Millennium Copyright Act makes it illegal to circumvent anti-piracy encryption (like you find on DVD’s). So you are in fact breaking the law according to the DMCA when you backup a DVD, even though the doctrine of fair use gives you that right. As others have said - backing up for your own use is one thing - but backing up and sharing with friends and family or on the Internet or selling the copy is clearly illegal.

In countries such as Spain, anyone is allowed to make a private copy of a copyrighted material for oneself and the source copy does not even have to be legal. Making copies for other people, however, is forbidden if done for profit.

In Australia, copies of any legally purchased music may be made by its owner, as long as it is not distributed to others and its use remains personal.

In the United Kingdom, making a private copy of copyrighted media without the copyright owner's consent is illegal as of April 2009: this includes ripping music from a CD to a computer or digital music player. The UK government has made proposals to allow people to make copies of music for personal use. According to one survey, 55% of British consumers believed ripping a CD to be legal, and 59% admitted to doing it.

Why Shrink and Backup Your DVDs?

* Simplify entertainment on the go! Why carry around bulky DVD cases or disc wallets when you don't have to?* Editing your videos! The videos ripped from DVDs can be used for video editing in Windows Movie Maker & Final Cut Studio.* Upload and share! Rip and convert your DVD to videos for sharing with others on YouTube.* Easily organize your movies! Moving files around on your computer is a lot easier than alphabetizing shelves full of DVDs.* Find movies faster! Use your Mac's built in search tool, Spotlight, to find a movie in your collection... instantly.* Keep your DVDs safe! Movies stored safely in your computer can't get lost, scratched or broken.* Use your laptop longer! Laptops use a lot more juice when they're spinning a DVD and a hard drive.

Disclaimer: Because of the DMCA ( Digital Millennium Copyright Act ), it’s illegal for you to rip a DVD that has CSS ( Content Scramble System ) on it. I’m no lawyer, but I think it should be fair use to do it. This being a democracy though, my opinons don’t matter, so yeah. Don’t hold me responsible if the MPAA ( Motion Picture Association of America ) comes knocking at your door. That said though, there’s a lot of DVDs that don’t have content protection, those should be perfectly legal to rip.